The Breaking Dawn (The Kingdom of Mercia Book 1) (26 page)

She had observed the Mercian party closely as she
approached the high seat. Penda of Mercia was as she had imagined; cold, hard
and built like Thunor himself. The young man next to him – dark haired and
powerfully made – was definitely related to Penda, for he carried himself with
the same arrogance. However, it was the three men who stood with him that had
intrigued her: one dark, one blond, and the third red-haired.

One, in particular, had drawn her eye. Tall and
lean, with long dark hair and pale skin, the warrior was dressed, head to foot,
in dark leather armor. He exuded a restless, contained energy, but it was his
face that drew her in. She had never seen a man with such defined cheekbones.
He had dark finely drawn eyebrows, an angular chin and jaw, and crystalline
blue eyes. His face was, simply put, beautiful.

When their gazes met, it was as if someone had
punched her, just below the ribcage. Her breath had left her, and for a moment
the world stood still. Heart racing, she had torn her gaze away and forced
herself to keep walking.

Now that she was seated, Alchflaed allowed her gaze
to return, once more, to the mysterious dark-haired Mercian warrior. He stood
two paces behind his king, and he appeared to be deliberately avoiding her
gaze.

Penda broke the weighty silence that had settled over
the hall.

“She will bend to our ways easily enough. What will
your answer be, Oswiu? Shall we weave peace between our kingdoms? Shall Paeda
and Alchflaed be betrothed on this day?”

Alchflaed’s attention jerked back to the Mercian
King.

Betrothed.

For the first time, she looked properly at the
young man standing at Penda’s side. He was staring at her, a look of naked
hunger upon his face. Alchflaed’s stomach knotted as the reality of Penda of
Mercia’s visit took hold. She broke out into a cold sweat and tore her gaze
from his, staring down at the rush-strewn floor beneath the platform.

“I think not,” Oswiu’s response brought both relief
and dread rushing forth within Alchflaed. “I tire of the games you play.”

“And what games are they?”

“This mask of friendship you wear every time we
meet. You killed my brother. You butchered his corpse and hung his remains in a
tree for the crows to feed on. Yet, you come here and speak as if another
wedding between our families will mend things.”

“Oswald fell in battle,” Penda rumbled. “What my
men chose to do with his corpse was their business.”

“Do you think me a fool?” Oswiu snarled. “The last
marriage did nothing to ease your warmongering. You wish to rule these lands.
Wedding my daughter to your son is just a ruse.”

“So you will not agree to the match?”

Oswiu leaned forward and spat on the rushes at the
foot of the high seat. Alchflaed stared at her father, shocked. She had rarely
seen him so incensed. His face had gone white and pinched, his eyes were dark
with rage. His hatred for Penda was palpable.

“It is you who is the fool, Penda. You are no
longer welcome at Bebbanburg.”

“So you would make me your enemy?” Penda replied,
his pale eyes glittering.

“I am already your enemy,” Oswiu snarled back.
“Your word means nothing to me. Enough with the pretense. Be gone from my
hall.”

Penda favored Oswiu with a long, dark look.

“Very well, you have made your choice. The next
time we meet, it will be in battle – and I will show you no mercy.”

With these words spoken, the King of Mercia turned,
his wolfskin-pelt cloak billowing behind him. His son hesitated, his gaze
lingering upon Alchflaed, before it shifted to Oswiu.

“Paeda,” Penda barked. “Come!”

Alchflaed watched the Mercians stride from the
hall, her insides churning. Then, she glanced over at her father. He was
staring after Penda, hate etched onto every line of his lean face.

With a sinking heart, she realized that despite
years of bloodshed, her people’s problems with Mercia were only just beginning.

Buy
Book #2 in the Kingdom of Mercia series: DARKEST BEFORE DAWN.

Historical Note

As
with all my novels set in 7
^th
century Anglo Saxon England,
The Breaking
Dawn
is based on actual historical figures and events. This time around, we
also visit 7
^th
century Wales.

Cynddylan
ap Cyndrwyn – the Prince of Powys (Wales) – was a well-known historical figure
of the time, who ruled from around 641 – 655 A.D.

The
alliance between Mercia and Powys did exist, and historians have learned a bit
about Cynddylan from two famous poems:
Marwnad Cynddylan
(The Death song
of Cynddylan) and the
Canu Heledd
(Heledd's lament), a 9th century poem
in which his sister sings of her brother's death. Both are hauntingly
beautiful, if grim, poems.

In
a nutshell, here's what my research unearthed about Cynddylan:

-
He wore a mail shirt and purple cloak

-
He was fiery, stubborn, brave and ruthless – a great warrior

-
He went to battle alongside King Penda of Mercia, against the Northumbrian
King, Oswald, bringing 700 warriors with him. They fought together in the
Battle of Maserfield (Maes Cogwy in Welsh), in the summer of 641 A.D. The
battle ended with Oswald’s defeat, death and dismemberment

-
He died fairly young and never married (I ignore this detail – it's a romance
after all!)

-
He had 9 sisters and 12 brothers (I also ignore this detail – for the sake of
the story – preferring to shrink the family to one sister, Heledd, and one
brother, Morfael)

-
After the Battle of Maes Cogwy, Cynddylan appears to have fallen out with Penda

Details
around Cynddylan's death are hazy. There is debate about whether Cynddylan was
killed alongside Penda in 655 A.D. at the Battle of Winwæd, or whether he and
his family perished the next year when Oswy destroyed his ‘court’ at Pengwern.  (We
don't get this far in the novel – I prefer to leave Dylan's future open, for
the reader to decide...)

Jayne Castel, April 2015

Other
works by Jayne Castel

THE KINGDOM OF
MERCIA

Darkest before
Dawn

The Kingdom of
Mercia, Book 2

Buy
a copy now from Amazon (Kindle or paperback)

BRITAIN
- 655 AD

Princess
Alchflaed of Northumbria is a spirited young woman who wishes to choose her own
path. Unfortunately, highborn women in Anglo-Saxon England have no say in their
choice of husband, and her father promises his daughter to the son of his
bitterest enemy.

This
attempt at 'peace weaving' is not what is seems. Alchflaed's father orders her
to murder her new husband. Charged with this treacherous task, she journeys
south to her new home in Mercia.

Maric
– a seasoned warrior with a dark past - leads her escort. Princess and warrior
find themselves strongly drawn to each other, but they must deny their
feelings. Both bound by loyalty, neither can choose their own fates.

Alchflaed's
father has given her a terrible choice: to earn her freedom, she must kill a
king.

Dawn of Wolves

The Kingdom of
Mercia, Book 3

Buy a copy now from
Amazon (Kindle or paperback)

2016 Kindle Scout Winner!

Can
love really change us for the better?

BRITAIN,
657 AD

Ermenilda
is a Kentish princess who dreams of becoming a nun. Instead, she's forced to
marry a brutal warlord: Wulfhere, King of Mercia.

Trapped
in a marriage to a man she equally despises and desires, Ermenilda struggles to
embrace her new life. When Wulfhere embarks on a quest for vengeance against
her own family after a failed assassination attempt, Ermenilda decides she's
had enough. She will find a way to escape him, no matter the consequences.

THE KINGDOM OF
THE EAST ANGLES

Dark Under the Cover of Night

The Kingdom of the East Angles, Book 1

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(Kindle or in paperback)

QUARTER
FINALIST IN THE AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD 2013 - ROMANCE CATEGORY!

The
year is 624 AD, and Raedwyn – daughter of King Raedwald of the East Angles –
has just been handfasted to one of her father’s ealdorman. Although highborn
women wed to strengthen political alliances, rather than for love, Raedwyn
still hopes for a happy marriage like that of her parents’. But, her optimism
is shattered on her wedding night.

Raedwyn’s
life shifts unexpectedly when outlaws ambush her new husband's party on their
journey back to his long ship. She finds herself captive of a bitter, vengeful
warrior – Ceolwulf the Exiled. He has a score to settle with King Raedwald and
Raedwyn is his bargaining tool.

Caelin,
Ceolwulf’s enigmatic son, follows his father on his quest for revenge. Fiercely
loyal to her own father, Raedwyn isn't prepared for her wild attraction to
Caelin – or for its consequences. In a world where to go against a king’s word
means death, Raedwyn must decide what matters more: love or duty.

Nightfall
till Daybreak
The Kingdom of the East Angles, Book 2
Buy now from Amazon (Kindle or
in paperback)

QUARTER FINALIST IN THE AMAZON
BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD 2014 - ROMANCE CATEGORY!

It is the spring of 629 AD and Freya,
the headstrong daughter of a renowned healer, accompanies her mother to the
hall of the King of the East Angles. When the king learns the healer cannot
heal him without taking his leg, he flies into a rage, banishes Freya’s mother
and keeps her daughter as his slave.

Enslaved by one king, and then by his
successor, Freya fights to regain her freedom in a world controlled by ruthless
men. Resourceful and determined, she has just one weakness: Aidan of Connacht,
the king’s right-hand. Aidan, an incorrigible flirt, has accompanied the new
king to Britannia, in search of a new life. However, he soon realizes his
loyalty will cost him dearly.

In the shadow of approaching war, Freya
and Aidan gradually grow closer – but neither can give in to their passion.
Freya’s fate has now entangled with that of her doomed king’s. Ultimately, she
must decide just how much her freedom is worth.